Barack And Baseball
Barack Obama finally did it: he crossed the finished line, capturing enough delegates to become the first African-American nominee of a major political party to run for president.
But after basking in the excitement and taking in this truly historic moment in American presidential politics, questions will be raised whether the Illinois senator after losing eight of the last 14 primaries over the last three months is a weaker candidate and might be damaged goods in the general election.
Many political analysts have compared the presumptive Democratic nominee to a marathon runner who was wheezing and gasping for air as he crawled to the finish line, after looking like he would leave Hillary Clinton in the dust just six months ago.
Obama supporters will undoubtedly remind the cynics that their candidate didn’t begin as a front-runner, it was Clinton just a little over a year ago, who boasted the well-oiled machine, the endorsements, the party stalwarts were firmly behind her, and most pollsters thought her to be unstoppable. But beginning in Iowa, the tide turned, and though Obama went through some challenging twists-and turns and navigated a few unexpected landmines, he came out on top and now can set his sights on John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee
Actually, if Major League Baseball is any guide, history has been kind to teams that have limped their way into the post-season and went on to claim the brass ring; so why not in politics, and why not Obama.
The junior senator has to look no further than the his own home town of Chicago and remember the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox, who, after holding a 15-game lead in the American League Central Division on August 1, saw their commanding lead sliced to a game-and-a-half before sweeping the Cleveland Indians in the last week of the season to clinch their first division title since 2000.
Once they hobbled into the playoffs, however, it was lights out. The Sox won 11 of 12 in the post-season, including sweeps of the Boston Red Sox in the American League Divisional Series and the Houston Astros in the World Series
Another example of a team viewed as frail and beaten down by the time they rolled into the playoffs were the St Louis Cardinals in 2006. This was a team, after all, who recorded a mere 83 regular season wins, the fewest of any World Series winner. They became the first team to drop eight straight games on three different occasions during the regular season and still win a World Series; and during the final 12 games of the season, they lost eight of nine, just barely hanging on to win their division by a game-and- a-half over the Houston Astros.
The light-hitting Cards stunned the baseball world when they beat the Tigers in five games in the Worlds Series.
So Obama supporters can take heart in knowing their candidate, though he withstood a few hard jabs in the final months of the primary season, his best days may be in front of him
Clinton post-mortem: There will be volumes written in the coming days why Senator Clinton failed to capture the nomination: running against an African-American who captured the nations imagination and sense of idealism, too much Bill and not enough Hill, losing the battle of the internet to Obama (with his superior use of social networking and fund raising skills), a communication breakdown among her own staff in executing strategy; but the one dominant issue likely to be underscored was her decision on October 11, 2002 to vote to give George Bush authorization to use force against Saddam Hussein. Clinton’s ill-advised Iraq vote, was a vote no one would let her forget, and try as she did to give her best reason for voting the way she did, it weighed her down to the bitter end.
It’s ironic on the day that Obama secured the nomination, it was exactly one year ago on Tuesday, that The New York Times in a Sunday Magazine article explored Mrs. Clinton’s Iraq vote.
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
But after basking in the excitement and taking in this truly historic moment in American presidential politics, questions will be raised whether the Illinois senator after losing eight of the last 14 primaries over the last three months is a weaker candidate and might be damaged goods in the general election.
Many political analysts have compared the presumptive Democratic nominee to a marathon runner who was wheezing and gasping for air as he crawled to the finish line, after looking like he would leave Hillary Clinton in the dust just six months ago.
Obama supporters will undoubtedly remind the cynics that their candidate didn’t begin as a front-runner, it was Clinton just a little over a year ago, who boasted the well-oiled machine, the endorsements, the party stalwarts were firmly behind her, and most pollsters thought her to be unstoppable. But beginning in Iowa, the tide turned, and though Obama went through some challenging twists-and turns and navigated a few unexpected landmines, he came out on top and now can set his sights on John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee
Actually, if Major League Baseball is any guide, history has been kind to teams that have limped their way into the post-season and went on to claim the brass ring; so why not in politics, and why not Obama.
The junior senator has to look no further than the his own home town of Chicago and remember the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox, who, after holding a 15-game lead in the American League Central Division on August 1, saw their commanding lead sliced to a game-and-a-half before sweeping the Cleveland Indians in the last week of the season to clinch their first division title since 2000.
Once they hobbled into the playoffs, however, it was lights out. The Sox won 11 of 12 in the post-season, including sweeps of the Boston Red Sox in the American League Divisional Series and the Houston Astros in the World Series
Another example of a team viewed as frail and beaten down by the time they rolled into the playoffs were the St Louis Cardinals in 2006. This was a team, after all, who recorded a mere 83 regular season wins, the fewest of any World Series winner. They became the first team to drop eight straight games on three different occasions during the regular season and still win a World Series; and during the final 12 games of the season, they lost eight of nine, just barely hanging on to win their division by a game-and- a-half over the Houston Astros.
The light-hitting Cards stunned the baseball world when they beat the Tigers in five games in the Worlds Series.
So Obama supporters can take heart in knowing their candidate, though he withstood a few hard jabs in the final months of the primary season, his best days may be in front of him
Clinton post-mortem: There will be volumes written in the coming days why Senator Clinton failed to capture the nomination: running against an African-American who captured the nations imagination and sense of idealism, too much Bill and not enough Hill, losing the battle of the internet to Obama (with his superior use of social networking and fund raising skills), a communication breakdown among her own staff in executing strategy; but the one dominant issue likely to be underscored was her decision on October 11, 2002 to vote to give George Bush authorization to use force against Saddam Hussein. Clinton’s ill-advised Iraq vote, was a vote no one would let her forget, and try as she did to give her best reason for voting the way she did, it weighed her down to the bitter end.
It’s ironic on the day that Obama secured the nomination, it was exactly one year ago on Tuesday, that The New York Times in a Sunday Magazine article explored Mrs. Clinton’s Iraq vote.
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
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